Wireless networks, e.g., WLANs (wireless local area networks), include stations (nodes) that communicate with each other via wireless media, for example, radio frequency transmission. Some example standards for wireless networking include IEEE 802.11 and related standards (Wi-Fi and WiMAX standards), Bluetooth, HomeRF, Hiper-LAN/1 and 2, and OpenAir. Some wireless networks are ad hoc wireless networks, in which the stations communicate with each other via wireless media only, rather than through wired infrastructure access points, wired routers, or wired gateways. Wireless network technology allows multimedia data to be transmitted among separate devices (e.g., laptop and desktop computers, personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, radio and other communication devices, and so on), without a wired infrastructure or with less reliance on a wired infrastructure.
The rules for data transmitted among these wireless devices is controlled by the wireless network's media access protocol, sometimes also referred to as the network's media (or medium) access control protocol. The media access control protocol can affect data throughput and reliable data delivery, among the wireless devices (sometimes also referred to herein as “nodes”). The media access control protocol can also affect the extent to which the wireless devices consume power.